Foot-operated vise



July 24, 1951 G. s. GREr-:OTT 2,561,621

FooT-oPERATED vIsE Filed sept. 14, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 George S. Green/f WWW E@ July 24, 1951 G. s. GREEQTT FOOT-OPERATED VISE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 14, 1948 invention;

Patented July 24, 1951 U N I TED 'STATES .PAT ENT 0 F FICE 2,561,621 x ,FOOT-orientarsi) vrsn George `S. Greeott, Healdsburg, .'Calif. Application Septemberli, .1948., .Serial No.-49,194

claims. (ci. s1- 21) `locked in a clamped position and released by the application of pressure irom an operators foot so that the operators hands are free to perform various operations on the material held in the vise.

Ameritorious feature of this invention resides l in the provision of a frame adapted to befastened `to a vertical support, a xed jaw carried by the frame and a movable Ajaw swivelly carried by a lever pivoted to the frame, means being provided responsive to foot actuation for locking the jaws in a clamping position and for releasing the jaws from the clamping position.

Another meritorious feature of this invention resides in the provision of a guide element fastened at one end to the frame and depending outwardly therefrom, a transverse locking element being carried by the lower end of the guide element and adapted to engage a rack bar or ratchet bar, pivotally carried by the lower end of the lever carrying the movable jaw, in order to` lock the movable jaw in clamping position with the iixed jaw.

Another meritorious feature of this invention resides in the provision of a foot pedalintegrally formed with the rack bar and pivotecl to lthe'lower end of the lever so as to enable a latching and unlatching pressure to be exerted on the free end of the rack bar to associate and disassociate `the same with a lockingmember carried by the 'lower lend of a guide element.

These and ancillary objects and other meritorious features are attained by this invention,

a preferred embodiment of which is set forth in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of Aa vise constructed `in accordance with the principles of this Figure 2 is an end elevational view; Figure `3 is a top plan view;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view takenI on line 4 4, of Figure 2;

Figure 5 isan enlarged fragmentary elevational View as seen from'line 5 5, of Figure l;

Figure 6 iis an enlarged Ifragmentary sectional view of the means carried by the 'lower 4end of the guide member for ,locking .the :ratchet bar in selected position dependent upon thedesired position of the movable jaw carried by the upper end of the lever and is taken on theline 6-6 `of Figure 3;

VFigure 7 isa sectional view taken on line 'l-1 oi' Figure 1;

Figure `is a view in .jaw face, and

perspective of a modified modification .ofthe jaw `face- 16 `attached to the rack member 'for moving the 2 ,Figure 9 is `a. view in perspective of another Referring to Vthe drawings, `the numeral I0 designates a main frame which is adapted Ato be mounted on a vertical support, such as a wall o r the like. The means preferred Vfor mounting the mainframe l0 at an angle to the vertical support and spaced outwardly therefrom are a pair of vertically spaced angle irons i4 and l5 which are bolted as at l'8 to the support. Bolt assemblies V20 and 22 or other conventional fastening means are provided for securing the frame l0 to the lateral extension of the angle irons I4 and l6as seen in Figures 1 and 2.

A xed jaw (24 is secured to the upper end of the main frame I0 by means of an integral lug 25 which extends laterally from the jaw and is secured to the frame `by means of a cotter pin 2B.

A pair of parallel integrally formed and laterally extending Wngs 30 and 32 project forwardly from the lower end of the frame IU. An elongated exible lever 34 is pivotedbetween the parallel wings 30 and 32 Aby means of a pair of apertured ears 36 and V3 8 arid a transverse bolt '40,

lhaving a suitable 'looking nut 42 associated therewith. The parallel lateral ears 36 and 38 are formed on the iiexiblelever 34 adjacent its upper end Vso that the lever is pivoted adjacent its upper end with its major portion `disposed below the Vpivot point.

A `companion iawjor the jaw 24 is carried by the upper end of the lever 34 and comprises a movablejaw 44. The movable jaw 44 is swivelly secured tothe upper end of the 1ever34 by means of a pair of parallel shoulders 46 and 48 which vlaterally project in parallel fashion forwardly of the jlever. The shoulders 46 and 48 are provided :with opposed notches 5U, within which is swivelly disposed a rod 52. The rod 52 is secured tothe back portion of the movable jaw 44 and is Swivelly retained in the notches 50 by means of a Pair of .cotterpins 54 and 55 inserted transversely at the front of the notches, as seenin Figure 3.

A guide member .58, consistingr of a pair of parallel bars `Sil vand 82 extend downwardly and outwardly from the wings Sie and 3rof the frame, theends ofthe bars being welded to the wings. A locking .pin 64 is transversely disposed `straight end ofthe rack bar 66;

'IhliS, ,theangular-section 140i the angle iron deiinesa foot f pedal, .while the angular Section bar deiines `an Vactuating opposite l and of the rack The operation of the device thus far described is as follows: y With reference to Figure 1, it is to be noted that the device is shown in a full line open position and in a phantom line closed position. Op-f.;

' of locking engagement with said latching member, and resilient means positioned between the eratively speaking, pressure from an operators. foot is exerted on the angular section' 14 'of the angle iron 72, the Ipressure moving the lever 34 y around its pivot vpoint and moving the rack bar 66 upwardly and forwardly throughthe oomple- 10 mentary bars Ell and 62 of the guide. member 58. When the desired pressure is exerted on the #fixed kjaw by the movable jaw 44, the foot pressure is released, thereby causing the 'nearest tooth on the rack bar 66 to engage onV the locking pin tid andlock the movable jaw to the'xed jaw, with the work vclamped therebetween. To

.release the tooth of the rack bar `from the locking pin, pressure is exerted on thel sectio'n vof the angle iron, thereby disengaging ,the'teeth 20 :and holding the teeth ofthe rack 4bar'upwardly and out of possible engagement with the pin. In order to prevent the rack bar from moving outwardly or the guide member', atransverse stop pin tt is secured between thebars fan'd 62 and spaced upwardly from the looking pin 64.

Aiding in the release of the jaws is a spring 532 which is anchored to a transverse slat 84 formed between the bars and 62 and is 'anchored to the flexible lever 3G, as seen in Figure l. To stop the movable jaw at the widest desired opening, there is provided a transverse pin or rod t5, thev saine being secured between the wings Si! and 32, as seen in Figure 1.

The jaws per se may be :formed of any suitable material and may be lined with wood or the like for use in cabinet wood work.

An alternative form of jaw structure is shown in Figures 8 and 9, either of these structures being adapted for use as the xed or lmovable jaw. In this respect, a block et may be formed with a concaved face 83, the same being 'suitable for round work pieces such aspipes or the'like.

As seen in Figure 9, a block 9E may be provided with a convex race g2 having .a series of vertical slots or channels 94 formed inthe face thereof, the channels being or" various size to accommodate various round stock.V

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the device is adaptable for use in welding, woodworking .and the like and will reduce thev time needed for performing any desired operation, inasmuch the vise will be controlled by foot pressure thus allowing the operator to employ his hands i'or setting the materials to be welded or glued, etc.

However, it is to be understood that while only one embodiment or this invention has been presented, various embodiments and changes in the details of construction may be `effected with- 60 out departing from the scope claims Having described the invention, what is claimed of the appended as new is:

1. A vise lcomprising a frame adapted to be secured to a vertical support, a iixed jawcarried by said ltrame, an extension laterally projecting from said frame, a ilexible lever pivoted adiacenti i its upper end to said extension, a movable jaw carried by the upper end of said lever and cooperating with the xed jaw upon swinging movement of the lever to clampingly hold a work` piece, va guide member secured at one end to said l s extension and extending outwardly therefrom, a

latching member. transversely Vdisposed at the lower end of the guide member, a latching bar end of the lever to the guide member in a selected position, means for moving said latching bar out lever and guide member for normally urging the upper portion of the lever outwardly so as to maintain the movable jaw in its non-clamping position.

2. A vise comprising a frame, means for attaching said frame to a vertical support, a fixed jaw carried by said frame, an extension laterally projecting from said frame, a iiexible lelongated lever pivoted adjacent its upper end to saidrextension, a movable jaw'swivelly carried by the upper end'of the lever, a guide memberA secured at one end to said extension and depending outwardly therefrom, a latching pin carried transversely by the lower end of the guide member, rack bar means carried by the lower end of the lever for engaging said pin and latching'the lower end of the lever in a selected position with respect to the lower end oi the guide member, foot pedal means connected to said rack bar meansv for effecting pivoting movement of the rack `bar means and disengagement from said pin, and resilient means positioned between the lever and said guide member for normally urging Athe upper portion of the lever outwardly.

3. A vise comprising a frame adapted for attachment to a vertical suppport, a fixed jaw carried bythe upper end of the frame, parallel wings projecting laterally from the lower end of the irame, .an elongated flexible lever pivoted adjacent its upper end between the wings, a movable jaw swivelly carried by the upper end of the lever, a guide member integrally depending Voutwardly from the wings, the lower end of said lever being swingable toward the `lower end of said guide member by pressure of anoperators foot, and complementary means carried by the lower ends of the lever and guidemember for securing the lower end of the lever to the lower end of the guide member at a selected distance apart to clamp a work piece between the jaws under a selective pressure. l

4. The combination of claimV 3, wherein said last named means includes a transverse pin Yon said guide member, a rack bar pivoted at one end to said lever and having its opposite end slidably disposed through the guide member and adapted for engagement on the pin.

5. The combination of claim 4, whereinsaid rack bar is formed integral with an angular foot pedal,'a pivot pin transversely disposed in the lower end of the lever, said foot pedal beiner seated on said pin and .movable to disengage the rack bar from the pin.

GEORGE S. GRE

orr.

REFERENCES CITED v The following references are of record in th Aille of this patent: A

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,947,607 Maross --raFcbr 20. :1,95% 

